The Express finalists for Junior Sports Star Awards revealed
Here are The Express finalists in the 2016 NewsLocal Junior Sports Star Awards. Congratulations to all of the athletes and all of the nominees. The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony in February.
Junior Sports Star
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Here are The Express finalists in the 2016 NewsLocal Junior Sports Star Awards. Congratulations to all of the athletes and all of the nominees. The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony in February.
ANGELINA GENFORD
Category: Junior Sports Star
AGE: 14
SPORT: Angelina competed at the Australian Indoor Cricket Championships, the fast bowler helping to secure a third-place finish for the NSW under-17s. She has been selected for the NSW under-15s metro team to compete at the U15s national championships. She recently scored 98 for Bankstown U15s rep team.
AGE: 16
SPORT: William scored the winning try for the under-16s NSW side against Queensland in the State of Origin curtain-raiser on June 1. He was the top try scorer for 2015-16 with 20 tries in 11 games. William plays for the Parramatta Eels in the Harold Matthews Cup. His dream is to play first-grade in the NRL.
AGE: 10
SPORT: Selena competed at the Australian Gymnastics Championships in Melbourne at the end of May and achieved a silver medal for NSW. She was the youngest gymnast to compete. Selena trains more than 20 hours a week and has been selected to Westfield Sports High School. She wants to compete for Australia.
AGE: 16
SPORT: Steven has been dedicated to the sport of swimming since he was five. He has won bronze at the Pacific School Games and gold in the 1500m freestyle at the NSW age championships this year. He also came fourth at the Australian open water championships and his sights are set on the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
AGE: 11
SPORT: Brayden was inspired to play basketball two years ago by his father, who played locally. Brayden represented the Bankstown Bruins at the Sydney South West PSSA basketball championships and his achievements are remarkable given he was diagnosed with juvenile absence epilepsy at the time he started playing.
AGE: 10
SPORT: Zachariah lives in Condell Park and only discovered he could run two years ago and has been striving to represent NSW — a goal he hopes to achieve next year. The young athlete is already achieving state times and has been taken under the wing of Youcef Abdi, a former Olympian.
AGE: 13
SPORT: Hayley is an all-rounder for Bankstown Sports under-13 girls cricket team — currently undefeated in the Molly Dives competition. She is also a member of the under-15 Thunder Girls League. This is her second year in the Cricket NSW Academy and after starting off as a medium-pacer has learnt to spin the ball.
AGE: 12
SPORT: Blake plays for Bankstown Sports AFL Club as well as juggling his other sports — cricket and swimming. Before playing AFL, he was a rugby league player and has made the transition, learning a new set of skills. Blake represented Sydney South West in the U13s at the NSW swimming championships.
AGE: Under 12a
SPORT: The boys from St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Georges Hall have entered the Wanderers Schools Cup for the third year in a row. The football tournament is hosted by the Wanderers’ A-League side. The boys qualified for the primary school mixed category finals for the second time.
AGE: 59
SPORT: This year Geoff is celebrating 45 years of Sydney grade cricket. Known as Spotty, the Bankstown Bulldogs cricketer has been a player, coach, mentor and innovator. The life member developed widely recognised neck guards with Nick Geale, following the tragic death of Phillip Hughes.
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